The Once and Future King

Cover of The Once and Future King.

The Once and Future King is a novel by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is often assigned reading in English literature classes and is composed of five books:

1. The Sword in the Stone
2. The Queen of Air and Darkness
3. The Ill-Made Knight
4. The Candle in the Wind
5. The Book of Merlyn

While the first four were originally published separately, and reworked for inclusion in The Once and Future King, the last was to be published in the greater work for the first time. This was vetoed by White's publisher, supposedly due to wartime paper restrictions. It wasn't until after White's death that The Book of Merlyn joined the other four.

Characters

• Arthur
• Merlyn
• Kay
• Lancelot
• Templates
• Gawaine
• Gaheris
• Gareth
• Uther Pendragon